Central Florida Regional to open ER in Oviedo

December 30, 2012|By Marni Jameson, Orlando Sentinel

Central Florida Regional Hospital, an affiliate of HCA, broke ground on a freestanding emergency department in Oviedo this month. The new ER will sit on a 26-acre site at the intersection of Red Bug Lake Road and the 417 Greenway.

The 11,000-square-foot, one-story facility is expected to serve more than 10,000 Oviedo and East Seminole County residents a year. Projected to open in the fall of 2013, the $9.7 million project will feature 12 private patient-care rooms and will employ 35 full-time staff and four emergency-medicine physicians.

The full-service emergency room will provide daily, around-the-clock emergency care for both pediatric and adult patients. The new facility will offer comprehensive emergency services, including a dedicated trauma room, laboratory and imaging services.

"With Oviedo's continued growth, Central Florida Regional Hospital is committed to becoming more engaged in the welfare of the region," said Wendy Brandon, chief executive officer of the 226-bed, acute-care hospital in Sanford.

"We are proud to have the community's support in this endeavor and look forward to bringing high quality, convenient emergency services to the area," she said.

Grand Villa center doubles size, adds jobs

Grand Villa of Altamonte Springs completed a nearly $2 million development plan, enhancing its senior living facility inside and out, and doubling its resident capacity, announced Scott McIntosh, executive director for Grand Villa. The renovated facility hosted its open house this month.

Since the project began, the number of residents has grown from 60 to 137, said McIntosh. The expansion also necessitated 25 new full-time jobs.

The renovation and expansion began two years ago, shortly after Senior Management Advisors, Inc., and Valstone Partners, LLC, purchased the property at 433 Orange Drive.

The living center was redesigned and furnished with seniors' interests and needs in mind, said McIntosh.

"Memory care became the priority when the facility ownership changed," said McIntosh.

"We have put a premium on our memory-care program since we started managing the property. These improvements will go a long way to help define Grand Villa as a place for Mom or Dad," he said.

Gala tries to help disabled to their feet, falls short

More than 200 supporters of the Disability Wellness Center, a non-profit organization in Central Florida that helps those with spinal-cord injury, attended a gala this month to help the center's clients literally get on their feet.

All proceeds from the Moulin Rouge Gala are earmarked for the purchase of an EskoBionics suit, a ready-to-wear, battery-powered suit that helps wheelchair-bound patients stand up and walk.

However, the $19,000 raised fell $6,000 short of the down payment the center needed to secure the $100,000 device, said the non-profit's founder and president, Nadia Kiswani.

"We're still waiting for some promised donations to come in, but it may have been the alcohol talking," she said. Hospitals pay upwards of $150,000 for an Esko suit, she said. The manufacturer is offering the center a considerable discount.

"Our 350 spinal cord patients could all benefit," said Kiswani, adding that Central Florida has more than 3,000 residents who have a spinal-cord injury or disease.

The Esko wearable robot was named a Top Ten invention by CNN and one of the Best Inventions of the Year by TIME magazine.